A curious aspect of this election season is the incuriosity
of major institutions in the state about where all this dark money is coming
from. The Boston Globe and the state’s
chief executive have both generated their own clues about the source of the $14,000,000.00
in dark money sustaining the pro-charter campaign, but neither has shown much
curiosity about what their own documents indicate.

Re “Donors behind charter
push keep to the shadows” (Page A1, Aug. 20): The implication that Strategic Grant
Partners is tied to so-called dark money is unfounded and poorly reflects the
philanthropic work of our dedicated funders, who have historically played such
an important role in the Commonwealth.

. . .

The idea that Strategic Grant Partners’ giving is
tied to “dark money” is outrageous.

The “tied to” standard seems reasonable inasmuch as the very
essence of dark money is to hide the identities of the givers. The Globe never followed up but I've shown that SGP is tied to dark money in the charters campaign, here,
here,
here,
here,
here,
here,
and here. We also know that Ms. Jacobson, Mr. Klarman, and four additional
Partners contributed on the record to Great Schools Massachusetts in 2015. None
of them has appeared on OCPF reports in 2016.

Recipients and/or senders of these emails include aides to
the governor, agents of Families for Excellent Schools, and a Republican
finance consultant. Mr. Kittredge is CEO of Families for Excellent Schools. I have inferred
that “JJ, and klarman” are Ms. Jacobson and Mr. Klarman of Strategic Grant
Partners.

Caution: My inference regarding “jj, and klarman” is just an
inference. I could be incorrect, but I believe it is a reasonable inference. We
don’t know if “the charter event(s)” happened, or which, if any of these individuals,
attended. But we do know there was an effort to schedule the events.

Nonetheless, it is important that the governor be briefed on
this stuff by his advisers. I wrote about the need to adequately
inform the governor previously, concerning the case of the Office of Energy
and Environmental Affairs staffers who had harassed a female employee whose
fiancé was running against a Republican senator. I argued that the problem was
not just with low level officials doing the harassing, but staffers in the
executive suite not informing the governor.

For example, if Ms. Jacobson and Mr. Klarman were to attend
charter events on May 27 and 30 with the governor and Mr. Kittredge, then the
governor’s advisers should have briefed him about their identities and the
purpose of the events. Since these were “charter event(s),” the governor should
have been informed at least that Ms. Jacobson and Mr. Klarman both gave
$40,000.00 to Great Schools Massachusetts in 2015.

As I wrote back on September 27, drawing on the work of
political scientist Richard Neustadt, “A (governor) is helped by what he gets
into his mind. His first essential need is information.” And I sure do wish the
Globe had followed up on that
September 27 letter from Strategic Grant Partners.

Louis D. Brandeis: "We must
make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in
the hands of a few, but we can't have both."

[Full
disclosure: as an educator in the UMass system, I am a union member.I write about dark money, and
not charter schools. I've never written about charter schools, nor taken a
position on them. I have taken a position against plutocracy and in favor of
democracy, and thus against dark money.]